


Chained

by TheRedLotusFlower88



Category: Persona 5, Tokyo Ghoul
Genre: Alternate Universe - Slavery, Angst, Bonding, Brother-Sister Relationships, Canon-Typical Violence, Canonical Character Death, Character Deaths are NOT in the relationship tags, Child Neglect, Dark, Established Relationship, Eventual Relationships, Eventual Sex, Eventual Smut, F/F, F/M, Half ghoul Akira, Hide and Ryuji bromance, Hide and Yoriko are BBFs, Human Banjou, Human Trafficking, Humor, Hurt/Comfort, I Wrote This Instead of Sleeping, Implied Police Brutality, Implied Sexual Content, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Implied/Referenced Rape/Non-con, Implied/Referenced Torture, Jealousy, Kagune Cuddles, Kaneki is kind of an asshole at the start, Kaneki's aunt is a bitch, M/M, One-Sided Kaneki Ken/Tsukiyama Shuu, One-Sided Kurusu Akira/Goro Akechi - Freeform, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Possessive Behavior, Protective Akira, Shironeki | White-haired Kaneki, Slave Banjou, Slave Hide, Slave Kimi, Slave Ryuji, Slave Shiho, Slave Yoriko, Slow Build, Strangers to Friends to Lovers, This Is STUPID, because drama, because why not?, ghoul Ann, ghoul Futaba, ghoul Makoto, he and Kaneki are siblings, mostly sticking to canon on both fandoms, protective Kaneki, that's all, the relationships in these fandoms mirror each other, this is now a crossover
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-02-08
Updated: 2018-03-17
Packaged: 2019-03-15 10:30:38
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 12
Words: 17,212
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13611498
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheRedLotusFlower88/pseuds/TheRedLotusFlower88
Summary: In the Ghoul Society, if a human is captured, they are likely taken to an auction to be sold as slaves - sex slaves, to be more precise. And that's if they're not eaten right on the spot.Unfortunately, for Hide, it's the former than it is the latter. And just when his fate looks sealed, another steps in - but this guy doesn't seem interested in Hide at all. Which is a good thing, right?Meanwhile, Ryuji was just trying to find his missing best friend. He didn't mean to get wrapped up in this ghoul business.





	1. Chapter 1

Drunken giggles filled the air as a group of students stumbled out the bar, some completely wasted and others a bit tipsy. In this group of friends, was a young man with brown hair cut down to his neck, brown eyes, wearing a bright yellow sweat jacket and some cargo shorts, despite the low temperature of Tokyo, and had a nice light, blush on his face that clearly meant he was intoxicated. As it turns out, this young man was one of the few who's tipsy - meaning he still had enough awareness to know how to get home.

"See you tomorrow Nagachika!" One of the other boys in the group called out as they were walking in the opposite direction. Hide just smiled and waved before turning around and began his stumbling all the way home.

Of course he was aware of the danger of walking the streets of Tokyo alone; aside from the casual robberies and muggings, there's also the fact that the city was crawling with cannibals called Ghouls. It was typically recommended for everyone to stay inside the moment the sun started to set, and Hide knew this. However, as a college student, he's been busting his ass during exams week, cranking up the studies, and often ignoring some of his friends just so he could get a few extra hours learning. This had been the one time Hide decided to cut loose, and hang out with his friends, and he had made sure that if he were going to drink, he'll stop as soon as he started to feel lightheaded.

Which turns out to be the best and the worst course of action, when he realized how dark it'd gotten, and he was still blocks away from home.

Stumbling, Hide continued to trying to make way, making out shapes and colors through his slightly blur vision, when a sudden noise from behind was heard. He paused, suddenly going into high alert, and before he could turn around to see what it was, something had jumped out in front of him. He'd barely had a chance to scream, or make any noise, before something covered his mouth and nose, and then the human was breathing in a scent that he knew all too well - having to seen this in the movies.

He struggled weakly, even when his body started to slump over, arms feeling weak and heavy, eyes drooping.

"Sssshh," A deep voice, male, whispered into his hear. "Just make this easier for me. I promise you won't suffer. Much."

That was the last thing he heard before losing conscious completely.   


	2. Chapter 2

Hide woke up to the sounds of mumbling, voices he didn't know. He slowly open his eyes, watching the world starting to get clearer, and when he tried to move, he found himself constricted. Suddenly, the voices were louder and a bit more sharper.

"Oh, he's awake already," The voice of a man, most likely the one who'd kidnapped him, started. There were moments of shuffling before Hide found hands digging into his hair, quite harshly, causing him to grit his teeth. The man had forcefully pulled Hide on his back, since he had been currently laying on his side. "Despite being a drunkard, he's actually in good condition." A sniff. "Smells good too."

"How much would he sell for?" Another person asked, his voice sounding a lot more feminine than the other. 

"Hmm...medium height, not too flabby, natural hair, decorative skin it seems like, has a good odor..." Suddenly, the man dropped Hide's head back onto the ground, causing the human to groan and curl up in himself, the influence of alcohol still apparent in his mind. "I'd say 12,000-30,000, depending on the ghoul." Hide didn't have to see it to know that the man, possibly ghoul, had turned to his partner to give him a pat on the back. "Nice catch. Once the alcohol clears up, and he's dressed to perform, he should be ready to auction off."

At that, fear froze inside Hide's chase, which was the scent the his two captures caught.

"Aww, is the little human scared? Don't be. If you're really lucky, maybe you'll be the slave of a nice, non-human eating, ghoul," The deeper voice male snickered, before busting out laughing. There was more shuffling as his footsteps faded away, but Hide could tell the other male was lingering.

"I'd apologize, but you made it all so easy. So...thanks, I guess." With that, the male too started to leave, closing the door behind him. Hide, with the little movement he could, shifted in his bounds. They had tied him up nicely, and blindfolded him so he couldn't see how big the room really was, nor would he be able to find anything to use to escape. The feeling of hopelessness swelled in his chest, and he pulled his bounded legs up in a fetal position, resisting the urge to cry.

The worst part about it was that the man was right; he had made it all too easy for a ghoul to sneak up on him, and, instead of eating him like Hide thought he would've, he's been offered a much worse position - a slave.

Hide wasn't going to pretend he didn't know what goes on with the Ghoul Society; besides eating humans, they also had rings of network that help them crossed all over Tokyo, away from prying eyes, from the CCG, and other activities that didn't necessarily involved killing humans for ghoul rights, or eating them because they were hungry. One of the rings were human trafficking, in which a ghoul would capture a human, and sell them to the highest bidder. _What_ use would they have for the money, Hide didn't know, but he had always assume that to ghouls it would be more funny for humans to suffer in the most humiliating way, ever since the CCG came about and started to kill their kind - and use their weapons they were born with against them.

And from the sounds of it, the way the ghoul had described Hide, the type of ring he'll be going to was exactly what human trafficking sounded like.

He whimpered, curling up some more.

He wished this was a bad dream.

* * *

He didn't know how long he'd slept, but suddenly, he felt arms grabbing him roughly, disturbing his sleep.

"Oi, human! Wake up! We gotta go soon!" The man said, and Hide barely open his eyes before he was hauled up onto the ghoul's shoulder, a strangled yelp escaping him from his gag, and suddenly, Hide didn't feel so good. Almost immediately, the ghoul sat him down, pulled out the gag, and Hide turned to his side, vomiting. The man winched. "Gross. Gotta make sure your breath isn't as bad."

Hide ignored him, still puking. God, he didn't even drink much, and yet being tussled around had caused him to throw up - he's such a lightweight.

Soon, Hide's stomach started to settle, and the next thing he knew, his face was being grabbed and a cloth was harshly being wiped across his face. He struggled, ignoring the ghoul's hiss of annoyance.

"Stay still, let me clean you up." He said, finishing wiping Hide's mouth and stood up. He glared down at the human. "Don't do anything that's going to bring your value down. You're lucky we can't eat you."

"I don't think you'd like to eat me anyway in my current state." Hide said, to which the ghoul snorted.

"Ha ha. You're so funny. I'm sure a lucky ghoul will enjoy you." He said, before picking up Hide and tossing him over his shoulder once more. "We gotta get you clean before we can sell you off."

"Don't I have a choice in this?"

"You know the answer to that."

He did. Damn if he did.

* * *

By 'cleaning', what the ghouls really meant was tossing Hide in a bucket full of cold-ass water, hastily washed him, making sure to get _some_ areas on his body extra clean, brushed his teeth and almost killed him the amount of mouthwash they'd used (he _would_ ask why they need mouthwash in the first place, but then he remembered - he's suppose to be a slave, and since most slaves were human, it'd make sense), and then collared him.

No really, they collared him. Like a dog. Nothing else, but a collar.

If Hide believed this was a dream, he wanted to wake up  _now._

"That's good, don't you think?" The ghoul asked the smaller male. Currently, Hide was unable to talk due to the gag being back in place as well as his hands being tied. Said male tilted his head to the side, eying Hide with a hum, and the human shivered at the look, quickly covering up his privates with his legs. "Hey! You're going to be on show, we'll need to see all of you!"

"It's fine. I think we can sell him a little bit higher now," The ghoul said, turning to his companion. "I'm sure someone would be please."

The taller of the two nodded, before eyeing Hide once more.

"Just remember, slave - if you die, you have no one but yourself to blame."

Hide couldn't agree more.      


	3. Chapter 3

It had a taken a while before they reached their destination. In that time, Hide had tried to map out the area, and came up with a conclusion.

These underground tunnels were deliberately made so whoever may be following a ghoul, would wind up confused. As a result, Hide had no idea how to get back to the top and that's _if_ he'd managed to escape in the first place. With nothing else better to do, Hide had to sit back and wait, unable to do anything else, which caused him to be in despair. _Nice going, Nagachika._ His thoughts sneered at him. _This wouldn't have happened if you'd just stuck with studying with the exams._ He let out a soft whimper behind his gag, a noise that went ignored by the two ghouls.

The next thing Hide knew, he was in a large arena, ghouls everywhere, along with some humans that Hide  _knew_ were reported missing. He couldn't help but stare in awe, his heart thumping, and was only brought back to reality when a harsh yank from the chain on his collar happened, given by the ghouls leading him.

"Come on. There's plenty of time for you to sightsee for your new owner." The ghoul grunted, and yanked on the collar. Hide stumbled onto his feet, but kept on walking until they reached what looked to be a platform. _Where I'll be presented as a slave._ Hide thought bitterly just as a man with short black hair and was wearing a black suit appeared, eyeing the group.

"Oh ho ho, have you come to take part of the auction?" He asked, moving closer to talk, though his eyes never left Hide.

"Yeah. Is he good?" The taller ghoul asked, stepping away from Hide to show him off. Hide tried to hunch back to provide some modesty, no matter how little, as the host eyed him.

"Hmm," He hummed, walking around the naked, captured human, the Kakugan tracing each and every inch of skin. He stopped right in front of him, "Does he take orders well?"

"Of course," That's when the other ghoul turned to him. "Sit."

At that, Hide froze, realizing with utter horror what they had actually meant by 'taking orders'. 

When the host's eyebrows started to furrow, the one holding the chain growled, and yanked. "I said, _sit."_

A startled yelp, but Hide did what he was told, slowly squatting down until his knees folded underneath him and his bottom barely touched the cold, hard ground. The humiliation of being in this position filled Hide and he tried his hardest not to cry.

"Hmph," The host started. "A little trouble, but otherwise, completely harmless. He smells good and looks good, so I'm sure he'll be sold faster. The crowd does love fresh meat after all," Then, a sly, dirty grin came across his face. "A good find boys. Good luck on the auction, and more to you if you have the highest bid here." Then he stepped to the side. "Go on, shoo. The others are behind there." He pointed at the back of the stage.

"Thank you, come on dog," Once more, the collar was being yanked, and Hide had no choice, but to follow. The two pulled back the curtain, revealing other traders and captured humans, and Hide had to bit back the bile coming up his throat.

The humans were in cages, some looked small, but was done on purpose, judging by the looks of the humans. Some of the humans didn't look as good as Hide could be, making the brown haired student wonder if this was their first time or had they manage to escape more than once, but was recaptured and sold once more. _Or did the ghouls just keep reselling them like some kind of toy?_ A dark thought enter his mind and Hide balled his hands into fists, anger filtering through his body and mind. Then, a horrible thought came to him, washing away the anger with ice cold water.

What if _he_ was going to be resold after the first? What if they would use him again and again and again, until he had no more use to them? How long will that be? Would they just eat him if they found him boring? If he couldn't preform a simple task asked? Would he forever be in this hell, constantly being sold to next set of ghouls? 

Fear started to settle in the pit of his stomach. He had to get out of here! He couldn't...this isn't what he'd wanted! How did a simple mistake lead to _this?_

"Come on, in ya go." The ghoul grunted, shoving Hide into a cage. The human had fell onto his hands and knees just as the gate closed and locked him in. Hide turned to face them, brown eyes wide in fear as the two sellers settle down around. "Don't look at me like that. Us ghouls gotta make a living too." Hide wanted to ask what kind of a living that involves the exchange for a human life, but knew he couldn't. Instead, he looked around at his fellow humans.

As previous mentioned, they - women, men - were all locked up in a cage similar to Hide's, looking miserable as Hide felt. He could see more scars on some of them, as if they were whipped and/or sewed back together, or just in general had a bite taken out of. There were a few who were crying, despite being yelled at by their sellers, but the ones who were mute scared Hide the most. They had this far away look in their eyes, as if they were not really there, and, seeing how easy they took a command being said, he realized that this operation was literally _soul-sucking._ Half these humans were better off dead.

As if they were thinking the same thing, the tall ghoul snorted.

"He wasn't kidding about fresh meat. Half of these humans look like they've seen better days." He mumbled.

"And yet, they still sell."

"Must be because the better-looking humans are getting smarter. They know better than to stay out late at night," That's when he looked down at Hide and snorted again. "Almost getting smarter."

Hide wanted to complain about that comment, when the curtain shifted again, and out came one of the most scariest ghouls Hide has ever seen.

Tall, blond hair slicked back, white suit, face too big and eyes too far apart, and has this aura around that just screams _get away._ Shivers went down his spine when he noticed how quiet it has gotten, even the ones who were crying stopped, and even more so with each step the supposed ghoul had take. He noticed the ghouls stiffen slightly as the man stopped and started to sniff the air. Almost immediately, the ghoul's eyes landed on him and Hide felt his heart stopped.

"Well, don't something smells good? Especially in this rat-infested, pisshole?" The man muttered, stepping closer to Hide's cage and the human fought the urge to back away, as the man leered down at him. He sniffed again. "Oh yes, something definitely smells good." He started crouch down, eyes tracing the trembling flesh. "You're brand spanking new, aren't cha? I haven't had a human smell this good since that half-ghoul almost beaten me half to death," Then, a sick smile came across his face. "But you aren't a ghoul, are ya? Which means taking  _you_ won't be nearly as fun, but more easier to deal with." The smile widen, and something not-sane enter the man's eyes. "I think I'm going to enjoy you. If I'm careful, you won't be broken until two months time, three if I'm extra careful and you actually prove how much of a good fuck toy you really are." A laugh just as Hide started to lose color in his face. "Oh yes, I got my eye on you, little human. Don't think you'll get away from me!"

With that, the ghoul stood up, still laughing, even as he walked around the area, checking out more and more of the slaves.

Hide couldn't speak, too terrified to even try.

"You're one unlucky son of a bitch, you know that?" His capture started, and Hide looked at him, wanting an explanation. "That, my dear human, was Oomori Yakumo, better known as Yamori to the unfortunate. He's one of the most top high-level ghouls in this community, and, well, as you can see, a little disturbed."

"He's also a carnivorous asshole, since he's one of the few that eats other ghouls. He hasn't been right after being contained and tortured." The smaller of the two said.

"Now he inflicts his pain on some other asshole that he captures, but you don't have to worry about that. From what I hear, when Yamori has a slave, they're usually for post-stress relief," At Hide's confused look, he elaborated. "He uses them for sex. He gets off on torturing the unfortunate, so he has slaves that will take care of that need."

"You say that as if they're willing. He uses them whether they like it or not," He looks down at Hide. "Yamori's slaves doesn't last long; he fucks them, and then usually eats them, thus, always on the search for a new slave. Seems he likes you a little too much."

Hide's fear skyrocketed at that point. He wanted to beg them, to plead with them to make sure he doesn't land in the hands of this Yamori person, but he knew it was a lost cause. They didn't care about whom they sell Hide to, they just want the money and that's it. Looks like he didn't have to worry about getting used over and over anymore, if what they said is true. Yamori might be the first and the last buyer Hide was going to get.

He just hope it isn't.       


	4. Chapter 4

Despite the obvious interest of a certain ghoul, that still didn't stop the others from coming up and expressing their own opinion of the caged human. Some of them were amused, and often enjoyed freaking Hide out by activating their Kakugan, while some of them poked and probed him as if that was a completely normal thing to do. Maybe it was, down here in the slave community. Still, Hide would rather not feel like a circus freak than he already did.

"What a lovely human pet," One woman squealed, staring down at Hide, licking her lips. Hide shivered. "It's such a shame that Yamori has a interest in you. You would've made a fine buffet for the party I'm throwing." And with that, she began to walk away, leaving Hide to stare after her.

"Yeah, most ghouls usually don't tangle with the higher anarchy," His seller told him. "You either have to be very brave, or very stupid to do so."

Great. So Hide had been right about Yamori being his last buyer.

Tears started form in his eyes, glaring at the ground. He couldn't stop cursing himself for getting himself in this situation; he knew the dangers, knew about the ghouls, and yet, he still went out and got a little tipsy anyway. Now, he was going to spend his days being a slave to probably the worst ghoul, and nobody would've known that - probably wouldn't care, as humans being missing is becoming common these days. Hell, he was sure CCG had already replaced him with a new delivery boy. And with a hundred missing person cases still to go, if the CCG ever found out that he's missing too, chances are, he'll probably be dead by the time they tried to find him.

A bitter laugh started to bubble up in his throat, but the gag in his mouth stopped it from coming.

"Okay, show time everyone! The auction's about to begin!" The host shouted, causing the group of ghouls to scramble around. If Hide didn't feel so depress right now, he would've found it amusing instead. A cold breeze came by, and the human shivered.

Right. He had almost forgotten he was completely naked sans the collar around his neck. Good thing everyone else is too, or he'll be embarrassed.

It didn't take long before auction had started. Hide could hear the crowd from behind the curtain as the host tried to rally them up with sly words and semi-fake enthusiasm, almost sounding like a car salesmen, if the human had to be honest. _Well, it's not like this is his first time, if I had to go by the acting._ He thought, still listening to the host.

"And now, for our first item, you all know her well, you've seen her before - Miss 489!" He shouted, and Hide blinked. _Miss 489? What?_ He heard movement coming from the left of him and Hide watched as the human and her ghoul began walking to the stage, her crawling on her knees. _Do...do they not know their names? Or...._ His eyebrows furrowed. _Or they ripped them away from the people they are selling? They are being sold like actual items instead of humans,_ the thought was troublesome. _And if that's the case, what about my number?_

Things started to go mute in Hide's ears as he watched, one by one, his fellow humans go up as their number was called, and heard the crowd go wild for some of them.

"700!"

"800!"

"10,000!"

"21,000!"

"34,000!"

And the numbers kept on going, going higher and higher until eventually, the human was sold to the highest bidder. He could hear them scream sometimes, sometimes they lash out, beg, but ultimately, they had gotten sold to whomever brought them.

"You should look at it this way, human, you still would've been a slave either way; either legally, by working up there, or illegally, by working down here," His seller told him, but Hide didn't feel any better and he knew that the seller knew that he wasn't trying to. Instead, Hide lean back on the balls of his feet as more and more humans were sold, until finally-

"We got a special treat today folks! One of our contestants has brought in a new item, one that's seemly untouched, and has never been sold before," He heard the host say. "Please, let us all give a warm welcome to number 750!"

"Show time." His seller grunted, opening the cage and leashing Hide's collar. "Come on. Let's see how many people would buy you."

They soon stared to make their way up onto the stage, Hide's head hang in shame, before glancing around at the group of ghouls standing there. Most of them had grinning faces, eyes roaming all over Hide's body, and the human was pretty sure he could see some drool coming out of someone's mouth. The harsh light beam down on him as his heart was racing. All his instincts told him to run, to get away because none of this was safe, that he was in danger, but he couldn't run away. Even if he could, where would he run to? Those tunnels were fairly long and drawn out like a maze. He'll be stuck here forever.

"Hmm, yes, a such a pretty item, isn't he?" The host said, tilting Hide's head so the other ghouls could get a good look. "We'll start the bidding at 200. Do I hear 200?"

"400!"

"400! I hear a 400! Anyone betting higher? What about 500? Can I get a 500?"

"600!"

"900!"

"10,000!"

"14,000!"

"25,000!"

"40,000!"

And so many more numbers were called out. They all seemed so eager to have him, and Hide could see the hunger in their eyes, and it was at this point, Hide felt scared. It didn't matter who he gets, he'll probably end up the same way - dead, eaten alive by a ghoul. That is, until-

"60,000." A voice, one that Hide dread to hear, called out, silencing the group as the ghouls turned to the speaker. Of course it had been Yamori, with his wide insane grin, his tall posture, and looking every bit of intimidating as he must be. The voices started to grow silent, pondering on whether or not to challenge Yamori, and the ghoul grinned when no one else spoke. At this, Hide suddenly panic. Were they _all_ afraid of Yamori? Was no one else going to bet?

"60,000. I hear a 60,000! Can we go higher folks? Anyone? Anyone at all?"

No. No, no, no. This isn't what he wanted! Fuck, he was still a _virgin_ for god's sakes! He can't....

Hide started to look around the room, hoping, _praying_ someone would buy him off.

"No one? Going once?"  _Please,_ he begged, tears slowly falling down his face. _Please don't let him win. Please, I'll do whatever you want, just don't-_ "Going twice?" _NO!_ "So-"

"80,000." A new voice interrupted, causing some in the crowd to gasp. Almost immediately, the sicken smile on Yamori's face disappeared and he turned to the speaker. Hide looked up at his savior, and he couldn't help but stare, heart frozen. The new guy was infinitely smaller than Yamori, probably only coming up to Hide's shoulder if they were to stand next to each other, had white hair hanging over his eyes, which were grey, borderline silver, olive skin, was wearing a black, tight fitted shirt, and some white pants. The look in his eyes screamed he didn't want to be here, and maybe he didn't, but Hide knew he should be thanking him anyway.

"90,000!" Yamori growled.

"98,000." Said the newcomer.

"2,000,000!" Yamori yelled, earing a few gasp.

Silence. Complete and utter silence. Yamori felt the grin come back on his face until-

"7,000,000."

"Sold! To the half-ghoul in the back!" Said host, to which Hide paused in his mental cheering. Half-ghoul? This boy, who looked like the same age of Hide, was a half-ghoul? And wait, didn't Yamori say something about a half-ghoul? Was that him?

"Not sure if you should be thankful, or not," His seller muttered. "That's the One-Eyed Ghoul. Another high-leveled ghoul. And wasn't he one of the victims of Yamori?"

"Yep."

Suddenly, that light and airy feeling in Hide's stomach started to get heavy. A victim of Yamori? Wouldn't that mean they have met before? And this guy, who didn't look like he would harm a fly, is suppose to be a high-leveled?

Suddenly, Hide wasn't sure if this guy was a 'savior' or not.      

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> By the way, the currency is yen. I know 1m/2m seems like a lot in USA, but translated into yen, it actually isn't. 1m to us, is a thousand to them. Currency is weird.


	5. Chapter 5

Hide could only stare at his buyer, unable to move or say anything. Said buy didn't even seem a bit interested in him, if anything, he seemed a bit annoyed as if buying Hide was some kind of inconvenience to him, which made the brown haired college student huff. _Not that I'm ungrateful or anything. It's just why the attitude?_ Before he could ponder this, a sharp tap on the back of his head brought him back to reality.

"Come on, we need to get you branded as well as getting our money." The seller grunted, pulling Hide off the stage and making their way to the half-ghoul.

Meanwhile, everyone seemed to be cautious of a certain fuming ghoul as he stared after his prize, as well as the ghoul who'd brought.

**Crack.**

"You think you're so clever," Yamori gasped out, visibly shaking in anger. **Crack.** "You think you can just take from me?! Well, I won't let you," **Crack.** "You hear me?! I won't let you take what's mine, _Kaaaaneeekiii!"_ He screamed, his voice echoing around the tunnel.

Hide, who had caught the scream, shivered.

"Well, I know one ghoul who's got a hit list from Yamori." The seller said.

"I don't think One-Eyed is worried all that much. If Yamori tries anything else, he'll probably just beat him again. Maybe even kill him this time."

A snort came from the taller. "Yeah, that's what they said when Kaneki had broken out of jail and fought him. That slimeball still somehow manage to survive."

"Hmm, point taken. Still, I wouldn't put it passed One-Eyed to finish the job. He holds a lot of resentment for Yamori, and I can't blame him. Some of us would actually like to kill him off as well."

Hide continued to listen on their conversation, up until it was time for the transition of money and slave. He couldn't help but look over at the half-ghoul, taking in what had been said about him. _Was he tortured by Yamori? And somehow survived it? Then fought the ghoul? And almost killed him?!_ So many questions were popping into his head. _He's high-leveled so I shouldn't be surprised, but still...to almost kill a guy like Yamoir...he must be pretty strong._ Hide gulped, feeling nervous. _Will he kill me too?_

Suddenly, there was pain on Hide's left arm, causing him to flinch.

"Ahh!"

"Hold still, you need to be branded." The ghoul, older with wrinkles on his forehead, grumbled. Hide could only watch as the hot iron tongs were pressed against his skin, burning, until the ghoul, a blacksmith probably, were removed and now on his skin were the words _Anteiku_ written. The human was transfixed, a morbid sense of curiosity peaking the longer he'd stared at his mark. "Aside from the collar you'd wear, the next thing that'll help let other ghouls know you belong to someone is a brand. And  _that_ is what that is."

The words slowly turned over in Hide's head, before horror started dawn on him when he came to the realization.

"W-What? I've been _owned?!_ " He squeaked out, looking between the ghouls who were now ignoring him. Meanwhile, his two sellers grinned at the amount of money they were receiving.

"It was a pleasure doing business, Mr. Ken." The shorter of the two said, bowing. Kaneki didn't say anything, but merely took the leash connected with Hide's collar into his own hands and began pulling the human to his side. Hide thought about resisting, only for a moment, before he realized that Kaneki would most definitely kill him if he'd disobeyed, and with little reluctance, began crawling over to his side. The two didn't stick around for long, and Hide watched as the ghouls disappeared into the crowd, feeling miffed.

"Get up." A voice, deep, but not too deep, said. It had taken a moment for Hide to realize that the voice came from his 'owner'. "I said get up."

Quickly onto his feet, Hide got up from his knees and swallowed.

The amount of apathy in the ghoul's eyes was enough for Hide to feel insulted, and he could speak about it too, had the ghoul not began walking with Hide in tow. They walked passed the shops and other ghouls and their human slaves, and it seemed like the ghoul had a clear destination in mind so Hide couldn't say the ghoul probably didn't know where to go. _Even if this guy's a prick, you should be thankful, Hide. After all, Yamori, remember?_ A voice reminded him and he coughed.

"U-Um," He started, looking at his owner. "I-I just wanted to say tha-"

"Did I say you could speak?" The ghoul, Kaneki, asked. It didn't sound snappish, just bored, which made Hide's confidence fall flat as well as his gratitude.

"I, uh, no, but I thought-"

"Then don't speak. " That was all Kaneki said. Hide had to bite his tongue from saying something rude, especially when he felt judgmental eyes on them, and kept quiet for the rest of the trip.

They had made it out of the arena and were now in the tunnels, Hide shivering when he realized how cold it was, before they continued to walk, with nothing but silence between them. Hide wanted to ask the questions that were burning on the tip of his tongue, wanted to know what the ghoul's deal with him was, and what he was planning to do with him, before realizing he would get nothing from him. The half-ghoul seemed a bit closed off, not friendly, but not hostile either - at least, not enough for Hide to say he's a outright killer. Not like Yamori had been.

Thinking back at the ghoul, and the final words that ring in his ears, Hide shivered.

His sellers had been so certain that his owner would kill him should they come face to face again, but could Hide really believe that? From where Hide was standing, the half-ghoul didn't look like he could beat someone half his size, but then, Hide had also known a girl who could beat him up, and she had been in elementary while Hide had been in middle. So, maybe it was possible. Still, if Yamori was true to his words, would that mean Kaneki would be in danger? All because of him?

There were so many thought swirling inside his head that about time Hide had realized they've reached their destination, he had bumped into the other, and let out a small gasp.

Even from that small bump, Hide could tell that the half-ghoul was built. He had barely moved, and grey-eyed ghoul just looked over at him with a raised eyebrow, silently judging him.

"S-Sorry," He stuttered, before realizing he had spoken without the ghoul's permission, and looked over at him. Said ghoul just clicked his tongue in annoyance before moving towards...a coffee shop? Why would they go there? Hide heard about ghouls and their coffee, but is now really the time? He was still cold, and...naked. He didn't wanted to go in if there's people there.

"Come on," Kaneki grunted, pulling on the chain. Not hard enough for Hide to stumble, but just enough to get the message and, gulping down the embarrassment, the human followed him into the shop. Upon entering, the smell of warm coffee and baked goods enter his nose before he could stop it.

"Kaneki-Oniisan! You're back!" A voice, much younger than Hide anticipated, said and he could only watch as the girl ran towards the white-haired boy and hugged him around the middle. Surprisingly, Kaneki returned the hug, his eyes softening from cold and apathetic, to warm and welcoming.

"Hinami." He stated. Hinami just gave him a soft squeeze.

While Kaneki was distracted at the moment, Hide turned to look around the coffee and began blushing when he realized how full it was. He noticed a couple of teenagers sitting together, a girl with blonde hair in twin pigtails, next to her was a girl with black hair that had a collar that says _Property of Takamaki Ann_ in silver, while on the other side, were two girls, one short, brown haired, red eyes, and another who also had a collar that said _Property of Niijima Makoto,_ puffy brown hair, and was wearing a large pink sweater.

And of course, after this were a few of the workers, who were staring at him.

Hide quickly turned away, not wanting to catch anyone's eye, when he noticed a sleeping cat on the table. He smiled.

"That's kind of cute." He muttered, just as a girl with short, purple hair, bang covering up one of her eye, started to talk.

"You brought a slave?! What the hell is wrong with you?!" She screeched, making her way over to Kaneki, hands on her hips. "You know how we feel about that! How dare you-"

"He was either going to wind up dead, or wishing he was, Touka," Kaneki interrupted. "I had saved him."

"But I _thought_ you hated slavery! Someone else could've saved him!"

"From Yamori?"

At that, the girl, Touka, paused in her ranting, eye going wide before looking over at Hide.

"I see," Then, she snorted. "Whatever. He's going to be your problem now. I already have my hands tie with Yoriko."

"Hmm."

Suddenly, the cat that was taking a nap started to yawn. "H-Hey, what's going on? Why is Touka fussing all of a sudden?"

Hide yelped.

"You can talk?!" He asked, pointing at the cat. The cat turned to him and narrowed his eyes.

"Yes, I can talk, idiot. Who are you? And why are you naked? Put some clothes on for god's sake! You're scarring Lady Ann!" He shouted. Hide blinked.

"Lady Ann?"

"That's me," Hide turned to see the pony-tail girl waving at him. "Don't mind Morgana. He gets a little cranky when he's interrupted from his nap."

At that, Touka snorted.

"I'll say. Damn cat's lucky we don't barbeque him when we had the chance. First Hinami's little bird friend, and now Akira's cat. And one that can talk, annoyingly," She muttered, and Hide watched her go into the back. Suddenly, there were footsteps coming down stairs and the human turned to see a black-haired, glasses wearing boy, whose eyes were a bit darker than Kaneki's, entering the room. His eyes immediately landed on Hide, before turning to Kaneki.

"Ani," He started, cocking his head to the side as Kaneki sighed. _Ani? Kaneki has a younger brother?_ Hide thought.

"Otōto." Kaneki started. "How was your day?"

"Tiring, but same ol', same ol'," Akira turned to look at Hide. "You brought a slave."

"If only the situation didn't call for it."

"I specifically remember you saying you wouldn't buy a slave."

"If the situation wasn't so dire, I wouldn't have."

"So you say."

"Just go bother your friends, Otōto. That's what they're here for, aren't they?" Kaneki asked, titling his head to the group of teenagers. Akira just shrugged his shoulders before making his way over to his friends, leaving Kaneki and Hide together for a moment.

"Come on, let's get you some clothes." Kaneki said, pulling Hide along upstairs.

Hide, who was confused about the entire thing, followed with no hesitation.      

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My headcanon for P5/TG is always going to be Kaneki being the older brother. I have no idea why, I just like the idea of Kaneki being the older brother for some reason.


	6. Chapter 6

They had reached the top of the steps and Kaneki had lead him to the third door away, presuming that's where Kaneki's room was. Inside was dark and a little cramp, a single bed with one window facing the left side of the bed, and a small bookcase in the back right corner of the room. A large dresser next to the door, and that seemed to be it. All in all, not overly complicated, but Hide thought it could use a little décor to lighten up the room.

"This is my room. This is where you'll be staying." Kaneki said as he pulled Hide in and then closed the door behind him. Hide blinked.

"B-But, I can't just take your room!"

"You misunderstand," The half-ghoul said, looking at Hide with half-lidded eyes. "We're sharing the room. My room is your room. Anteiku doesn't have a lot of space, and slaves are usually partnered with their master." At that, realization dawned on Hide and then he began blushing.

"O-Oh," Then he looked over at the ghoul. "B-But that means we'll have to share the bed."

"Is that a problem?" Kaneki cocked his head to the side. Hide shook his head, feeling a bit foolish and felt the blush on his face deepen. "Wait here. I'll get you some clothes that'll fit."

Before Hide could protest, Kaneki had already open the door and then closed it, leaving the human alone. With nothing else better to do, Hide sat on the bed, waiting as he looked around the small and quite frankly, caged in room. _So,_ he thought. _This is my life now. A slave to a ghoul. What's he going to do with me?_ At times like this, Hide was thankful he had no one that will miss him. Even if that thought sounded unpleasant, it was true; Hide had been living alone for quite some time so the only people would miss him would be....

 _Fuck, Akira and Amon!_ At the thought of his two friends, who acted like his parents, Hide's eyes went wide.

Fuck. Akira and Amon both worked in the CCG, of course they'll be alerted that something's not right with him immediately. There were only a few people in the CCG Hide had gotten along with, and those two were definitely it. Amon, with his somewhat awkward, but caring nature, whom always looked out after him, and Akira, who never allowed many people close to her, not since her father's death, who became somewhat of a stern, mother figure to Hide. Even when it seemed like they didn't care much about anything, Hide knows they'll care about _this._ Care that Hide was gone, would search high and low for him, kill as many ghouls as they can to get to him, and there's a part of Hide that wished they wouldn't. Even if Hide is a slave now, he never wanted to wish unnecessary death on someone, especially if the people they were going to kill were innocent and had no idea where Hide could've gone. That's just....slaughter.

Hide tighten his fist.

It was odd to think about that in a time like this, but...Hide didn't like judging people by the book. He hadn't been raised that way, so he'd like to give people the benefit of the doubt. Even if the ghoul he's with now had a nasty attitude, and made Hide feel angry, he didn't think the ghoul was a bad person. The only thing he did was save him from a worse ghoul, and was currently giving him clothes and a roof over his head. What happens next will change his point of view entirely, and he could only hope it was a good change.

He'd been startled out of his thoughts when he heard the door jingle. He watched as the knob started to turn and revealed it to be Kaneki with a pair of pants and shirt.

"Put these on. You'll get new outfits as soon as I'm able to buy you anything, but for now, these will have to do. After you finish dressing, we'll have to see Yoshimura about your place in Anteiku." The boy said, giving Hide his clothes. The human took them without complaint and began dressing himself, delighted to have something on his body finally, after being naked for so long. He had been ready to put on his pants when he felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand up, and an intense stare on his back, which caused him to blush. Even though he knew the ghoul was staring, he couldn't help but turn around, meeting his eyes.

"Do you mind?" He asked. Kaneki just blinked, as if the request was not normal, before shrugging his shoulders and turning around. Hide could still feel the warmth in his cheeks as he dressed himself quickly, before commenting that he was decent again.

"Come on." Kaneki titled his head and walked out the door. Hide began to follow him, a little behind, all the way up to the last door of the hallway. Inside, there was an old man sitting on a couch, a cup of coffee on the table, staring at the two as they piled in.

"I see we have a new guest." He said. Hide had assumed this must be Yoshimura Kaneki had been talking about, and bowed his head. 

"Please to meet you." Hide said, to which Yoshimura chuckled and waved his hand.

"Please. None of that formal stuff. It's nice to meet you too, although, I wish it wasn't under the circumstances as they are," He said before turning to Kaneki. "I have been informed you brought a slave." Kaneki shrugged.

"It was better for him to be here than to be in the hands of Yamori." Kaneki said, to which, Yoshimura nodded in understanding.

"I see," He then turned Hide. "May I have a name?"

Hide blinked. "A...name?"

A snort left Kaneki while Yoshimura's lips twitched in amusement.

"Yes. The one that's been given to you by birth." He said, and Hide could feel his face flush in embarrassment when he realized how his question sounded.

"N-No! T-That's not! I mean," Hide cleared his throat. "It's just...when I was...brought," The word sounded so wrong in his ears. "I hear the ghouls give slaves a number. Do you not...do that?"

"Typically, no. That is not a practice I condone, nor do I accept abuse of any kind on anyone, be it slaves or another ghoul," Yoshimura said, and Hide found himself relaxing despite. "Things are run differently here than they would if another ghoul had brought you. You are safe while you are in my care. Or in the care of my allies."

"Oh," So Hide had been rescued by a good ghoul then. Good. "In that case, my name's Nagachika Hideyoshi, but you can call me Hide for short."

"Yoshimura Kuzen," The old man said. "Now, Hide, just because I don't agree with what my fellow ghouls are doing to humans doesn't mean I will accept everything. Kaneki had brought you in a safe haven, but you must work for it, like the other slaves here. Do you know how to make coffee?"

"Not...really. To be honest, I don't drink coffee much, and when I do, I'm usually trying to study for a test." Hide said. Yoshimura nodded.

"I see. Well then, it's not too late for you to learn. And up until you can master it yourself, you'll just have to do with serving it to the customers," He said. _That's cool,_ Hide thought. _I can work my way up then._ "And I must warn you, some of the customers here are...not quite accepting to my ground rules of this place. To many ghouls, master or not, they still see humans as...a toy, to harass. Even more so since Kaneki hasn't laid claim on you yet."

"But I thought I'm owned by him?" Hide questioned, raising an eyebrow. Kaneki let out a cough as Yoshimura explained the situation.

"You are owned by him in a psychical-object sense. You even wear our brand on your arm. However," He started. "You are not owned by him in a more... _intimate_ sense and that's where the trouble arouses. If there's any hassle, I'm sure my workers will take care of it, but if there's not a scent of Kaneki on you, there might be some suspicions."

The flush on Hide's face started to disappear when the old man's voice took a serious note.

"Do they not know that your slaves really aren't slaves?" That was the best way Hide could describe it. From what he was hearing, Yoshimura was against this slavery thing the ghouls had. The ones he'd managed to rescue were given a space to call their own, and Hide hasn't been treated unfairly just yet.

Yoshimura shook his head. "No, if the other ghouls found out about this, I'm afraid we might start a war among us. There are some ghouls that just hates humans for everything they done, no matter if the humans they tortured or killed were innocent or not. Currently, they're only focusing on the humans on top, but if word gets out about how I treat my slaves, there might be bloodshed here too."

"I see." Hide muttered, taking this all in. "So, how do I avoid this? Like...do I just jump in bed with him or something?"

"Even if you did, I still wouldn't take you," Kaneki interrupted, making Hide scowl. _Ass._ "I just need to act more like a master to you when we're around other ghouls. Just because you're a slave doesn't mean your only purpose is to have sex with me. Ghouls buy slaves for other reasons too."

"There is truth to that. So long as Kaneki acts like a master he should be, there'll be no reason for anyone to suspect Kaneki brought you out of kindness." Yoshimura said. "And, there'll be no reason for anyone to suspect that the slaves brought here are treated differently."

"And your whole 'save the humans' will be safe," Hide nodded. "I gotcha. When I should I start working?"

"I'll give you a break for now. When you were kidnapped, did your sellers do anything?" Yoshimura asked.

"Other than grooming me? No." Hide scowled.

"You must be famish, then. Kaneki, would you mind bringing food for your 'slave'?" He asked, and Kaneki walked out the door without questions asked. "I apologize for Kaneki's behavior. He and Akira had a rough life, and well, as you can see, 'rough life' have changed them completely. More so for Kaneki than Akira."

"I know an Akira in my life," Hide mused, a wry smile coming across his face. "Though, not sure how much they'd like each other. I don't know much about your Akira, but my Akira is considered the Ice Queen."

Yoshimura grinned.

"They must be related then. My Akira seems just as cold-hearted as you say about your Akira."

Hide cocked his head to the side. "Really? I don't get that impression."

"Looks are deceiving, Hide-kun," Yoshimura said. "Never forget that. It just might help you survive this journey." 


	7. Chapter 7

Yoshimura and Hide had talked for a couple of minutes before he decided to let him go back to his and Kaneki's room. The old man would like to introduce him to the other slaves and ghouls, but not until the coffee was closed down for the night, so Hide would have to stay uphold in his room. The human was currently laying on the bed when the door started to open, and Kaneki had came in with a hot plate of curry.

"Here." The ghoul started, giving Hide the plate. Hide smiled.

"Thanks man!" He said, grabbing it and began eating, carefully avoiding making a mess on the bed. The only sounds that could be hear was the fork clinking against the plate, before he felt an intense stare on him again, and caused him to look up - straight into a pair of grey eyes. He swallowed his food. "Soo..."

The ghoul just blinked.

"Am I suppose to take it that your name is Kaneki?" Hide asked.

"Yes."

"Huh," Hide bit his lip, tilting his head to the side. "You're not very talkative, are you?"

"Sorry I'm not much of a conversationalist," Kaneki said, with a touch of sarcasm that made Hide a bit miffed. "And I'm especially not with someone I don't know."

"Then let's get to know each other!" Hide said, a bright smile on his face, though his actions seemed to have startle them both. "Hi! I'm Nagachika Hideyoshi! But my friends call me Hide. I use to live in the 20th ward, I went to Kamii University, I'm a part-timer at the CCG-" When Kaneki gave him a sharp look, one of a apprehension and distrust, and a little bit of anger, Hide held his hands up in false surrender. "No, no, I don't work for them. I just deliver their mail is all," When Kaneki snorted, Hide continued. "Trust me, they won't miss their delivery boy," _But I'm sure Akira and Amon will have other words to say._ "I enjoy Burger Girl, I like music, and over all, I'm pretty happy with life. Well, up until this point anyway," Hide smiled at the ghoul. "What about you? Tell me your story."

Kaneki just stared at him, unsure what to think.

"Kaneki Ken. I use to live in the 20th ward too, and I also went to Kamii." He said. Hide tilted his head further, mind going into overdrive with this new information.

"Really? How come I-"

"You never seen me before?" Kaneki snorted. "Trust me, you aren't the first person who didn't. I was pretty invisible during my time there." He looked down at the ground, and Hide couldn't help but wince when heard him crack his middle finger, the sound so similar to Yamori's. "I guess becoming a ghoul changed that."

"You weren't originally born as a ghoul?" Hide asked, a frown on his face. Kaneki didn't say anything, before he decided to stand from where he'd sat on the bed.

"I should go. I have things to do." Before Hide could protest, Kaneki was already out of the door, and shutting it behind him. The human pouted.

"Well, thanks for the information, I guess." He said to no one. Still, he couldn't help but go over what he'd said, wanting to know more about the mysterious half-ghoul. _He went to Kamii too? And he looks around the same age as me, so he couldn't have been a graduated student._ He thought, chewing on his rice from his curry. _Do I know anyone with silver eyes though? I mean, I would've noticed that..._ Suddenly, an image of a black haired guy that usually sits in the corner reading a book came to mind, and Hide's eyes went wide. _No way...Is that **him?** But he was declared missing about three months ago! And the last time I know of, he was human. _Then he remembered what Kaneki had said, and a horrible feeling bubbled in the pit of his stomach. _I...he's-_

Suddenly, there was a knock at the door, startling Hide from his thoughts. Before he could say anything, the door open, revealing a girl with light brown hair in a shape of a bob, equally brown eyes looking around the room with a curious glint before they landed on Hide, and the glint changed from curious to excitement.

"Awesome! A new friend!" She said, stepping inside the room. When Hide spotted the collar around her neck, _Property of Kirishima Touka,_ he instantly knew that this girl meant no harm. Said girl bounced towards him, a bright smile on her face. "When Touka-chan told me that Kaneki-kun brought a new slave, I didn't want to believe it at first. But then, here you are!" She said, before holding out a hand. "My name's Kosaka Yoriko, and I'll be one of your co-workers here in Anteiku! Please to meet cha!"

"Oh, I'm Nagachika Hideyoshi, but please call me Hide." Hide said, grabbing onto Yoriko's hand and shook it. The petite girl smiled.

"Alright, Hide. Wow, it's been so long since we've last seen another human here, with the exclusion of Akira-kun's friends, of course," She said, before looking down at Hide's plate and smiled. "I see you're enjoying my curry."

Hide blinked, surprised.

"You made this?" He asked, pointing at his food.

"Yep! To be honest, curry is the one thing I had never tried to make until I met Sojiro-san, but I'm glad you like it!" Yoriko said, beaming at the ex-Kamii student.

"Who is Sojiro-san?" 

"Oh, an old friend of Yoshimura. Maybe one day, you'll get to meet him, he's very kind. Strict, but kind. He did, after all, take in Akira-kun," Yoriko blinked before gasping out loud. "Oh, but I shouldn't be telling you this! Akira-kun and Kaneki-kun are very closed-off when it comes to their private lives, and I, uh, don't want to get into anymore trouble with them," She laughed sheepishly, blushing. "I'm glad I have Touka as my master, they seem to be very wary of her."

"Touka's the one with the purple hair right?" Hide asked.

"That covers her eye? Yeah, that's her. She's my master," Suddenly, there was warmth in Yoriko's eyes as her smile turned a bit more...pleasant? That's not to say Yoriko's smile wasn't pleasant enough, it's just this smile was different. "She's also my girlfriend."

At that, Hide's eyes went wide, shocked beyond belief. Seeing this, Yoriko laughed.

"What, did you think all slaves hate their master? Hasn't Yoshimura told you how this works?" She winked at him. "Trust me, not all slave-master relationships are one-sided as they are seen in the movies. Touka's a great master, though she never really wanted to own me in the first place." She smiled. "Please do not think we are helpless little humans."

"No, I am aware of what Yoshimura is doing," Hide said. "I just...never given a thought about the slaves. You were brought, weren't you?"

"In a way," Yoriko said, shrugging her shoulders. "Anyway, you should hurry up and finish eating so you can meet the others. We're all waiting for you once the last customer is gone." She winked again before heading towards the door, and leaving Hide by himself.

"Huh," He started. "For someone who is a slave, she sure is happy."

* * *

He had finished his food long before Yoshimura had came to get him and welcome him to their new home. When he came down the steps, he was greeted by a particularly large group of people, some look happy, others indifferent, and there was at least two that were scowling at him.

"Everyone, I would like to informally introduce you to our newest member, Nagachika Hideyoshi." Yoshimura said, placing a hand on Hide's shoulder. "He is a slave to Kaneki, so I expect you to treat him just as fair as the other three." Hide blinked. Other three? "Hide, these are your co-workers: The guy over there," He pointed to a man with a crazy hairstyle, who had waved. "Is Koma Enji. The girl next to him is Irimi Kaya. They are both ghouls," Hide nodded in understanding before swiftly moving to the next people in line. "Then you have Kirishima Touka and her younger brother, Kirishima Ayato" Said brother scoffed. "While Touka may work here, Ayato is part of Kaneki's crew. He comes in from time to time. Likewise with Koma and Irimi, they are both ghouls," Then he turned to a purple-haired female, whose hair was longer than Touka's, and Hide couldn't help but shiver when he caught her eye and saw a silver of tongue wiping across her upper lip, interest gleaming in her eyes. "That is Kamishiro Rize. You don't need to worry about her."

"Aww, I'm hurt Yoshimura-kun," The woman, Rize, cooed out. "You told me that this was a safe haven. Am I not allowed to be part of it?"

"This is a safe haven for _humans,_ you witch." Touka growled out, to which Rize turned and narrowed her eyes at her.

"Be careful of that tongue of yours, little girl," She said. "I never want to find out what ghouls taste like, but I _can_ arrange that just for you."

"I like to see you try!" Ayato shouted, glaring at the female.

"Children, children. Let's calm down," Yoshimura said, before turning to Hide. "Like I said, you need not to worry about Rize. She doesn't stay very long here."

"Too busy scrabbling up info for Eto. Isn't that right, Binge-Eater?" Ayato said, just before Touka gutted him in the stomach with her elbow.

"You fucking idiot." She hissed just as a harsh silence fell in the group. Hide blinked in confusion.

"Who is Eto?" He asked, looking at Yoshimura, who's lips were sealed into a tight line, and the hand on Hide's shoulder started to get heavier.

"You do not have to worry about her, Hide-kun. She's...she's never coming here." He said, looking a bit upset and at a loss, and Hide suddenly wanted to comfort him. Before he could act on it, however, the look in his eyes disappeared and Yoshimura continued as if it never happened. "Then, you have your human slaves - Yoriko, who is Touka's slave, Banjou, who is Rize's slave - not that you have to worry about him either. He's part of Kaneki's crew as well. Finally, there's Kimi, who is-"

"I'm here! Sorry I'm late, I had to get the CCG off of me!" Hide's eyes went wide as he _knew_ that voice, and he turned around to see a familiar face, who also paused to take in Hide.

"Nishiki-senpai?!"

"Shittyoshi?!"

Huh. Guess you learn something new every day.


	8. Chapter 8

The two had a staring contest that would've gone on forever had Koma not coughed, breaking the awkward silence that fell within the group.

"I see you two know each other." Yoshimura said, raising an eyebrow. Hide shifted in place, a bit unnerved about this whole thing.

"Yeah...kind of....he use to go to Kamii too...." Hide drifted off. Just before Hide had started to live the life of an bachelor, he used to share a flat with another person, and that person just so happens to be Nishio Nishiki. It had been kind of awkward, because Hide had soon learn that Nishiki wasn't the friendly type, but the older man had never bothered him in the all the time they had lived together. Then one day, he'd disappeared, and Hide never saw him again.

"What the hell, Nagachika? How the hell did you get caught in this?" Nishiki asked, peering at the boy. Hide could feel his face flush in embarrassment.

"I, uh, went out...with some buddies of mine," When Nishiki did nothing, but raise an eyebrow, Hide continued. "Hey, I didn't expect to get kidnapped the one time I decided to take a break from my studies."

"Well, this is all so very  _heartwarming,_ " Rize started, getting up from her seat and began walking towards the door. "I simply must get going. I have things to do, and I can't just sit around pretending to be buddy-buddy with you...Neki dear, remember our time and place." She blew a kiss towards the white-haired ghoul who only sneered in her direction.

"Geeze, Rize was here too? I definitely need to get better at this," Nishiki groaned, before turning to Hide. "Anyway, I guess he's part of the crew now?"

"Yep." Ayato said as everyone else started moving. Nishiki sighed, scratching his head.

"Great. Just when I thought I got rid of you," Nishiki scowl. "Listen here you; so long as you're here, you got a job to do. No slacking around, you hear me?"

Touka snorted.

"How funny. A lazy piece of shit telling another person not to be lazy." She said, and Nishiki felt his eyebrow twitch before he turned to her.

"Ha? Got something to say hag?"

"Who you calling a hag, Shitty Glasses?!" Touka yelled, glaring at the older man.

Hide could only watch as the two started fussing, momentarily confused, before turning to the others, and realize no one was paying them any mind. _Maybe they have gotten use to it._ He thought before his eyes landed on Yoriko, who caught his glaze, and smiled and waved at him, laughing a little at Nishiki and Touka's antics. He smiled back.

Much later, Hide and Nishiki were having a conversation among themselves.

"So you're a slave now? To whom?" He asked, raising an eyebrow. Hide merely tilted his head to the side to reveal his collar and the markings engraved on it. "Kaneki Ken? Huh. Didn't think he'd be the type."

"He isn't. He's made that clear to me," Hide said before looking at his senpai. "How come you never told me you were a ghoul?"

"And what? Have you freak out?" Nishiki asked before snorting. "Like anyone's dumb enough to tell a regular human being that they're a ghoul. With the CCG constantly on our backs, if a ghoul's dumb enough to open up to the wrong person, they just might turn to them to get rid of us." He paused, looking at Hide. "But, you don't seem to be the type to do that. Which makes you an even bigger idiot. I could've eaten you, and there's nothing you can do about it."

"If you wanted to eat me, you could've done so a long time ago, before this," Hide pointed around them before facing back to Nishiki. "And if that's the case, what about Kimi? Would you try to eat her?"

"I did," Nishiki spat out. "I almost did. But I couldn't. I fell in love with her, and after I revealed my ghoul side, I....she still stayed with me. But I knew she wouldn't be safe. If the CCG caught wind that she's been hosting a ghoul, the punishment for that is much more severe than that of a ghoul. So, I gave her an ultimatum - she can either break up with me, and pretend we never knew each other, and never see each other again, or," His eyes soften, a frown coming across his face. "She can live with me, but she has to be a slave in order for it to work. You can guess which one she'd chose."

"Wait, she wasn't brought as a slave?" Hide asked, and shrunk back at the look he'd received for it.

"The hell kind of person do you take me for, Nagachika?! Hell no I didn't buy a slave!" Nishiki bristled, before calming down. "Not everyone here is a forced slave. I'm sure you were told this."

"Yeah, Yoriko said the same thing." Hide nodded. "Honestly, you, Touka, and everyone else here seems to have more compassion for humans than the ghouls at the auction."

"You went through an auction?" Nishiki frowned. "I'm not surprise, since that's how most ghouls gets their slaves, but still..."

"There are different kinds?" Hide tilted his head.

"Auctions, trade-offs, literally buying them from a seller. Sometimes if a ghoul likes you enough, you don't have to worry about auctions and trade-offs; you're their slave already." Nishiki looked at him. "Is that what happened? Kaneki went there, saw you, and decided he had to have you?"

"Actually, it was more like he saved me. Another ghoul had almost gotten me."

"Oh? And who is that?"

"Someone named 'Yamori'," At that, Nishiki stilled and the atmosphere became tensed. Hide could tell by the pricks of his skin, this Yamori guy is not well-liked in this shop. "I only got a gist of it from my sellers, but I'm guessing not everyone likes him?"

"Hide," Nishiki started, and Hide was startled by the name. Nishiki never calls him by his nickname, no matter how much Hide insisted. "Do me a favor. If Yamori comes here, stay away from him as much as possible."

"If he comes here, wouldn't that make him a guest? I can't just ignore a customer-"

"Yamori is a piece of shit," Nishiki interrupted, and again, Hide was surprise with the amount of anger rating off of the ghoul. "You can serve him, but _don't_ stay any longer than you need. Trust me on that." Then he slowly back into his seat. "And it's not like Yamori has any business here anyway, not with that shit organization he runs. Still, if - no _when_ you see him, keep your damn distance. While most of us aren't responsible for you, that job belongs to Kaneki, we do have to look out for each other. And that includes dealing with some seriously twisted ghouls."

Hide didn't say anything for a while, but he looked at Nishiki for a moment.

"Just before we left, I heard him screaming about taking what's mine," He mumbled, suddenly becoming a bit frightful of the future. "You don't think...?"

"Some ghouls are territorial," Nishiki said. "And I guess Yamori believes you belong to him. I'd be careful if I was you," He gave him a look. "There's nothing worse than a ghoul who feels like they've been cheated out of something that they claim is theirs. They're a lot deadlier to deal with than a regular, rational thinking, ghoul."

Hide swallowed, throat suddenly going dry. 


	9. Chapter 9

"Tomorrow, I'm going to teach you about making coffee. For now, I want you to get some rest." Yoshimura said, placing a hand on Hide's shoulder. The human nodded in understanding before he spot movement from the corner of his eye, and turned to see Kaneki walking out the door.

"Where is he going?" He asked.

"Kaneki has some other business to take care of. If he feels comfortable enough, he'll probably tell you in the future." Yoshimura said, making Hide pout as he realized what the old man is saying.

"Is he not going to be around much either?" For some reason, the thought made Hide's heart clench. What was the point of being a slave to a ghoul if said ghoul wasn't around doing much of anything? Least of all, to him?

"Kaneki comes and goes whenever he pleases; he's like a cat in that instance. Don't worry, he'll probably be back after he's done with Rize and Shittykiyama." Touka said as she finished wiping the table. At the name, Hide blinked.

"Shitty...kiyama?"

"His name is Tsukiyama, and he's....a friend of Kaneki's." Yoshimura said, making Touka snort.

"Friend. Right. Just a friend." She mumbled, and Hide frowned. From her tone, it sounded like Touka didn't like this Tsukiyama person, and that made him wonder; is Tsukiyama just as bad as Yamori? And if so, why was Kaneki hanging out with him in the first place? Is Tsukiyama someone he trusted? Hide couldn't help but be worried a little.

He didn't know how much time has passed before the shop started to empty itself, with some ghouls having their own homes to get to. He waved goodbye to Nishiki and Kimi, Koma, and of course Yoshimura, leaving only him, Touka, Yoriko, Irimi, Ayato, and a little girl named Hinami inside.

"Right. Time to get some shut eye." Touka yawned. "I guess you don't need any help getting to your room?"

When Hide realized she was talking to him, he blinked, blushed. "Uh, no. I'm...I'm good."

The ghoul didn't say anything after that, just taking Yoriko's hand and leading her upstairs to their room, Ayato following. Hinami stared at him for a while before a small smile came across her face.

"I'm sorry you have to go through this," She started. "You seem like a nice person."

Hide blinked, surprised, before smiling and scratching the back of his head.

"Thanks! You guys seem pretty yourselves!" He said. The compliment left Hinami in a bit of a shock, but she managed to recover quickly.

"I'm sure Kaneki-Oniisan will take good care of you, so you have nothing to worry about. And we'll try our best to make you feel most welcomed!" She said with a grin on her face. Hide couldn't help but mess with her hair, laughing when he heard her squeak in surprised.

"It's okay Hinami, I'm not frighten of you guys. You haven't given me a reason for it. Although, I'm entirely not pleased with being slave, that's not your or Kaneki's fault. It was my own for not being aware of my surroundings." Hide said. Hinami looked at him.

"So...you're not afraid of ghouls?" She asked. Hide tilted his head.

"Should I be? I mean, for what's it worth, I feel pretty welcomed already, and all you guys ever did was give me clothes. I can't be afraid of something that's nice to me. Plus, you haven't tried to eat me yet." He joked, and Hinami chuckled a little.

"I just want to make sure....Yoriko-chan had been pretty nervous working here, despite telling us otherwise, and Kimi-chan had warmed up to us so quickly, it's a little hard to believe," Hinami smiled at Hide. "I'm glad you aren't afraid of us, Hide-kun." With that, she began to run up the stairs with Irimi smiling at Hide before following her. The human watched them before making his way to his - Kaneki's - room and, once again, was left alone in the empty space. With a sigh, he decided to check out the books Kaneki had.

"Let's see...." He muttered, going over each and every one of them. When he realized all of them were horror/supernatural, he frowned. "Geeze, no other genres? Not really a happy, fun-time type of guy is he?" Hide will have to fix that, at least. Kaneki looked like a guy who deserves sunshine every now and then. With a shrug of his shoulders, Hide took a book without looking at the title from the shelf and began to sit down after turning off the lights, reading.

He didn't know how much time had passed since, but his eyelids started to feel heavy, and before he knew it, he had fallen asleep.

* * *

" _M on cher ami_, what took you so long?" Tsukiyama asked as soon as Kaneki landed right near him. Rize, on the other hand, just click her tongue.

"Probably playing with his new toy. Isn't that right, _Kaaaneeeki~_?" Rize cooed, laughing when Kaneki had ignored her. At that, Tsukiyama frowned.

"A toy, _ chérie_? Forgive me for asking, or if it seems out of line, _mon roi_ , but what kind of toy do you have?" He asked.

"Tsukiyama..." Kaneki growled out a warning, narrowing his eyes at the Gourmet ghoul. Seeing this, Tsukiyama immediately began to backpedal his steps, a light blush coming across his high bone cheeks. This made Rize sneer.

" _Pardonne-moi , _Kaneki-kun, I was out of line."

"Just tell me what you found out about Yamori and the Aogiri Tree." The half-ghoul said. 

"Of course, Kaneki-kun," Tsukiyama cleared his throat before going into business mode. "It seems Yamori is going after another organization, calling themselves The Black Goats. My sources has indicated to me that there's a long-brewing fuel between them and the Aogiri Tree, and that currently, these two organizations might head out to an all-out war, should the kidnappings and killing continue."

"And what about our dear old friend, Kanou? I, myself, can care less if these two worthless ghouls organization kills each other, but I need to know about Kanou." Rize asked, and Tsukiyama tisked, shaking his head.

"I was getting to that, _femme malfaisante_ ," He turned back to Kaneki, ignoring the rinkaku that had appeared behind Rize's back. "Kanou was last seen in the 15th district. I'm sure he's hiding there, if he hasn't moved completely."

Kaneki sighed, running his hand through his hair. Taking this as a sign of disappointment, Tsukiyama added: " _Mon cher_ , you've been at this for so long. Why don't you take a break, hmm? We could have a fest, yes? In honor of your upcoming leadership!"

"My, my, how the dog begs for attention." Rize said and Tsukiyama glared at her.

"Rize, you're still keeping an eye out for Kanou, right? I heard he may have a follower in foot. Topside. See if you can find him, and get anymore information out of him."  Kaneki said, turning to the purple haired girl.

"And what's stopping me from eating him completely, hmm?" She cooed, smirking as her rinkaku shivered at the thought of eating.

"He has what we both want, just like Yamori. Difference is, he's more valuable. If you kill him, we're never going to get anywhere." Kaneki said, and Rize rolled her eyes, sighing in defeat. "Tsukiyama, I want you to find anything you can on The Black Goats. Keep an eye on them, watch who they interact with. I need to know if what we're dealing with is a friend or a foe."

"Of course, Kaneki-Kun."

With a nod, Kaneki began walking away from them, going onto his own mission. As soon as he was gone, Rize turned to Tsukiyama, a smirk on her face and a sinister look in her eye.

"You what to know what toy our lovable Kaneki brought?" She cooed, smirking when Tsukiyama eyed her warily. "He brought a slave. A _human_ slave," She crackled. "Our little Neki is all grown up!"

"Is that supposed to scare me, _sorcière?_ "

"No, but do know this," Rize's smirk widen. "If Kaneki brought a pet to play with more often, your advances on him is much more desperate. After all, aren't all humans good for is sex?" 

"Is that how you treat Banjou?" Tsukiyama hissed, and Rize scoffed.

"Please. What Banjou and I have is nothing, but a Master-Slave relationship. And he knows it," Rize smirked again. "Though the way Neki treats his pet is a far cry from how he deals with you. Remember that tidbit, Tsukiyama." And with that, Rize began walking away, leaving Tsukiyama to himself.

* * *

Kaneki watched the pair, one struggling against another they know they couldn't win.

"No, please! I don't want this!" The woman cried, trying to fight her way from the ghoul's Kagune. The ghoul growled, iris flashing in annoyance.

"Come on you stupid bitch! You're my slave, you better damn well do as I please!" He grunted, finally getting the woman on her back, legs spread out. The small brunette sobbed as the ghoul lean down on her, licking at her neck, and almost taking a bite, when there was sudden pain in his abdomen. His mind went blank, the sound of the woman's whimpering lost on his ears, as he looked down and see another ghoul's Kagune stick out from his stomach, the bright red standing out as the contrast of the dark red of his blood. "W-What the hell?"

Before he knew what was happening, another red tendril came around his neck, and he began choking, eyes wide as he scratched at the harden cells. The woman could only stare as the ghoul before her started to die, and, as his body went limb, she looked up to see a ghoul, the halfie she heard so much about, standing there, looking impassive.

She didn't know whether to scream, or to run away.

"You're free now. Go get some help." He said, and turning away before the brunette could question why he'd saved her. With nothing else better to do, she scrambled onto her feet and began running, never looking back at the ghoul who saved her.

Kaneki sighed.    

     

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'll be honest, I totally forgot the sub-plot here LOL Hopefully it'll all come back to me besides Hide/Ryuji being slaves and going on a wild adventure.


	10. Chapter 10

_Hide woke up to the sound of screaming. Groaning, he sat up quickly, trying to gather his senses as sleep started to evade him. When he didn't feel as drowsy, he started to look around at his environment, and couldn't stop his heart from dropping, now fully awake._

_It looked as though he was in a hallway full of cells, and yet, there was a sense of dread and despair in the air that had his stomach curling up, as if he'd smelt something foul. The screaming, that sounded like it was coming from another room, echoed around him, and Hide broke out into cold sweat as he got up from the floor (when did he get there?), and began walking forward, checking out the cells. Inside one, he couldn't stop the gasp that left him, backing away from the cell, eyes wide._

_Inside it lay a man, who had multiple iron rods sticking from his body, toes and fingers seemly missing. His eyes were wide and white, mouth ajar, and what's worse was that there was a huge chunk of his side missing, as if he's been eaten by a animal....or a ghoul._

_Slowly taking his eyes away from the gruesome scene, Hide look into another cell and lo and behold, yet another prisoner was trapped and killed. This time female, and though she had no iron rods sticking out from her body, Hide noted she too had missing toes and fingers. Officially creeped out, Hide began walking again, trying his hardest to ignore the prisoners inside when one caught his attention._

_"986....979....972...." A voice whispered, and Hide couldn't help but look into the cell. It was yet another female, this time alive, curled up into a corner as she rocked back and forth. Hide could see her fingers and toes being very black, and something told him that that wasn't normal._

_"Um...excuse me?" He started. "Do you know where I am?"_

_"965....958...951...." She kept mumbling, still rocking back and forth. Hide couldn't help but frown, the sense of dread starting to curl up even more inside of him._

_"Excuse me? Miss?"_

_"944....he's coming." She stopped rocking, body tensed. Hide frown even more, not understanding._

_"Who's coming?"_

_"He's coming," She started to hyperventilate. "He's coming. He'scominghe'scominghe'scominghe'scoming!" Suddenly, she looked up and Hide had taken a step back, startled, as he realized what color her eyes were._

_They were red and black._

_She was a ghoul._

_And yet, she was afraid._

_"Who-?"_

_Before Hide could finish asking the question, the door (it sounded like a metal door) slammed open, and the sound echoed the surrounding room. Hide couldn't help but flinch as footsteps began to disturb the silence, the little it was with the woman being in hysterics and the door being forcefully open. Sudden alarms began screaming inside Hide's head, telling him to run, that he isn't safe, and before Hide could think this through, out of the shadows came a man. His heart began to melt into his stomach, and he felt the urge to vomit._

_The man was tall, almost towering over Hide, blond hair slick back, a hockey mask over his face, and was wearing a white suit with black underneath._

_And yet, despite the mask, Hide **knew** who he was._

_Yamori._

_But...why was he here?! For that matter, where was 'here'? The last time Hide knew, he had been at Anteiku, reading a book! Had they been under attack? Did Yamori came into the shop with no one knowing he was there?! What? Hide didn't understand._

_"There's my little pet," Yamori called out, taking a step towards Hide. Hide took a step back, body going stiff as he realized he was in danger. "Come now, don't be shy. After all I've done today, a whore like you is a nice treat in exchanged for those that I have tortured and killed." He said._

_"W-What?" Hide whispered as he continued to back away from Yamori. He didn't understand. All these prisoners were Yamori's? Does that mean he was going to treat Hide the same way? No, a voice interrupted, near hysterics, he called you a whore, so that means..._

_Before Hide could finish this thought (he didn't want to know), Yamori suddenly dashed towards him and with one hand, Hide was on the ground, gasping, before Yamori closed the distance and laid on top of the human, one hand near his face. Before Hide had the time to think, to do anything (do **what**?!?!?), the other hand of Yamori began to wrap around his throat, and suddenly, Hide couldn't **breathe.** He scratched at the fat fingers uselessly, air becoming shorter, as tears started to form at the corner of his eyes. No longer was Hide scared - he was downright **terrified**. Then, Yamori began parting his legs forcefully, sinking into his body, face leaning close to Hide's, sniffing at his neck and then licking his cheek._

_"You taste amazing, almost as good as that collector's item," The ghoul said. "And while I may have no use for **that** particular toy, you, oh you, I will enjoy until you're no more use to me. So scream, precious, scream!"_

_Hide couldn't, too busy not trying to black out as Yamori, began unzipping his pants, revealing his hard-on. This caused the frightful feeling Hide has to spike, and he tried to fight back, thrashing against Yamori's hold as the ghoul laughed, edging closer to the human._

_"S-sst-aaa...!"_

_He could feel him against him, the wide head of Yamori, and Hide screamed._

Hide woke up with a gasp, his eyes snapping open instant. His heart felt like it was running a marathon, and he looked around the room to find-

He was safe. He was still in Anteiku.

The human couldn't help the sigh of relief that left him when he realized he wasn't in Yamori's grasp, wasn't trapped somewhere strange, and more importantly, he wasn't Yamori's slave.

The thought made him shiver.

"What's wrong?" The groggy voice startled the human, and Hide turned to the right of him to see his ghoul (his ghoul?), Kaneki, laying in bed right next to him, peering at him with one eye open and his white hair a mess. Hide wondered when did he get back.

"It's nothing. I, uh, had a nightmare." Hide said, embarrassed at the fact that he might've woken Kaneki up. Kaneki hummed in understanding before closing his one eye. He thought Kaneki might've fallen back to sleep when something began to wrap around him and pulled him close to the half-ghoul, causing him to blush. He looked down and realized it was Kaneki's Kagune, and part of him wanted to scream at the sight while another noted that the weapon ghouls use was very warm and soft. "Um...?"

"Shhh," Kaneki started. "Sleep. It's too early for you to be up."

Hide's blush gotten deeper, but he didn't argue. He wasn't exactly sure what time it was, but he thought it was a little early for his liking, so instead, curled up into Kaneki's body and began to drift off to sleep, even when Kaneki was stroking his hair.

The ghoul didn't stop until he was sure the human was asleep and then he felt his eyes drooping before sleep had claimed him as well.

* * *

The next morning, Hide had woken up to an empty bed, and the blond couldn't help but feel disappointed. With a yawn, he realized it was still kind of early, but not enough to warrant him to go back to bed like last night. He started to leave the bed with a stretch, and headed downstairs when he smelt something delicious being cooked.

"Good morning, Hide!" Yoriko cheered, already on the stove way in the back of the coffee stop. Another, Kimi, nodded her head in greeting at the other human.

"Morning Yoriko, Kimi," He greeted, yawning once more. "You guys making breakfast?"

"Yep. We have our own little kitchen back here because sometimes, we get customers that likes to bring their slaves in and we have to treat them just as much as we have to treat the ghouls," Yoriko said, placing a bowl of small rice in front of Hide. "But for now, it's just us, and this is the only time we get to eat for a while. So eat up!"

"A while? No lunch break?" Hide asked. Yoriko gave him a wary smile.

"Sometimes, if the place isn't _too_ busy, and Yoshimura-sama can get away with it." She said. "Though he might be lenient on you because you have to go through the process of making coffee and all that. So lucky you." Hide gave her a smile of understanding before he yawned again.

"Still tired, Hide-san?" Kimi asked, and Hide nodded.

"A little. Had a nightmare last night," Hide turned to Yoriko. "I didn't wake you or Touka right?"

"Nah, if you made a noise, we didn't hear it," Yoriko said. "What was your nightmare about, if you don't mind me asking?"

Hide picked at his rice, a slight frown on his face.

"Yamori." He whispered, and he didn't even have to look to know that both of the girls in front of him had tensed up. "I don't fully understand it, and I don't think I ever will until I meet him again, but I do know that Yamori is dangerous."

"Has Kaneki-kun or the others warn you of Yamori?" Kimi asked, her eyes narrowed slightly.

"Nishiki warned me. I...I don't want to bring him up if it's going to make everyone uncomfortable. But...I'm a little worried. And that dream I had didn't make it easier." Hide said.

"Nishiki told me you went through an auction, and that's where you saw him," Kimi said. The frown on Yoriko's face deepen. "He also told me about what he'd said to you. He's worried that Yamori might come here looking for you."

"Yeah." Hide said, looking down at his rice.

"It wouldn't be the first time Yamori came here looking for somebody," Yoriko snorted, folding her arms. "But, I think we can handle it. Don't worry your pretty little head, Hide. We have your back, and even if you were in trouble, you wouldn't be for too long. I trust Kaneki to save you."

Hide smiled at her, somehow, believing in her words.    


	11. Chapter 11

"Nagachika Hideyoshi has been reported missing."

A tall, slender, blonde haired woman stopped in her tracks, turning to face one of her co-workers.

"And you're telling me this, why?" She asked, blue eyes steel. The man that had reported to her shivered at the look before he continued.

"I just thought you wanted to know. You and Koutarou are close to him, yes? He's in the back if you need anymore details." He said and began to walk away to finish his errands. Akira watched him go before turning to the closed door of an office she had been ready to go to anyway. With no hesitation, the blonde continued to walk, opening the door, revealing her partner sitting at his desk, stacks of paper piled while there was one in his hand.

"Nagachika is missing." She said and Amon sighed, placing the paper down.

"I know. I was told earlier this morning just as I was coming in. The last time anyone had seen Hide was on a Tuesday night of last week, when he went out with a couple of friends to a bar around 8:42." He looked at her. "Friends reported that he had been a little tipsy, but seemed well enough to travel home alone. When he didn't show up for class the next day, or the day after, teachers had called his home and got nothing in return. They are worried that something might've happened to him, so they contacted us instead."

"Something like a ghoul attack?" Akira asked.

"Most likely. But I wasn't going to say that to a bunch of kids and have them freak out," Amon frowned. "But I _am_ betting on that's what happened. If he's dead or not, I'm not sure."

"Was there any witnesses that can justify your claim?" Akira asked as she closed the door behind her and began walking to her partner.

"It was pretty late out, and streets were pretty dark. So even if I'm right, there's no way anyone could tell that Hide had been attacked by a ghoul without seeing the telltale signs of one. And these days, the ghouls are doing much better at hiding than they were a few years back." Amon said, sighing as he ran a hand through his hair. Akira clicked her tongue, sitting down at the desk and reached for a paper on top of the stack.

"A few years back, we didn't have to worry about a person going missing. They would eventually just turn up dead if a ghoul gotten to them," She said, looking down at the paper in her hand with a frown. The word ' _ **MISSING'**_ appeared in bold as a caption while showing a picture of a little girl they still have yet to find. "What I don't get though, is some of the victims that were gone for longer than a month begins to reappear, sometimes looking worst for wear. What is going on?"

"Maybe ghouls have a specific taste for humans?" Amon asked, causing Akira to look at him, the frown deepen.

"That's not funny."

"Hideyoshi would've found it funny."

Silence. The two stared at each other a moment before Akira sighed and began flipping through the stack of paper.

"Sorry." Amon said.

"It's fine." Akira shrugged, still not looking at him. Once more, the two ended up in silence with nothing but the sound of paper moving filling the air, just before Amon open his mouth again.

"Hey," Akira paused in work, and then glance over at her partner, who had a seldom look in his eyes. "We're going to find him. And we're going to bring him home."

The blonde didn't say anything, before turning back to her work.

Deep inside her gut, Akira found it hard to believe that.

* * *

Hide took a sip from his cup of coffee and frowned.

"Too much water." He muttered, setting the cup down. Yoshimura just smiled at the human.

"Keep trying, Hide-san. I have a feeling you'll get it eventually, you seem to be a quick study." He said as he watched the human make yet another cup of coffee. Hide couldn't help but laugh.

"That's what people try to tell me, anyway. I guess that talent is only reserved for things like studying and ghouls," He said. Yoshimura hummed, never taking his eyes off of Hide, noting the human's anxious and stress. Eventually, Hide did began talking as he knew he would. "Hey, if you're going to warn me about your customers, I think it's only fair that I should warn you that I may or may not have some people that may or may not get upset that I'm gone."

"You mean you have someone who cares for you? I suppose I am aware of that," Yoshimura conceded. "I would figure you being gone would cause quite the concern."

"Oh, don't think I'm anything special! It's only like, two people," Hide said as he began grinding a fresh batch of coffee beans inside the grinder. "But still, I think you should know that these people work for the CCG. So, I'm...sorry, I guess is what I'm trying to say?"

"No need to apologize, Hide-san. We all have our loved ones we want to protect, and you seem to be no different, whether if they are from the CCG, or just a regular ghoul," Yoshimura said. "Though I will keep this in mind because of the CCG's recent actions. It's not that I don't trust them, on the contrary, I would hope to one day build a bridge between us and the humans, CCG included, but you must understand that everyone in this shop is just as much of my family as the two people in your life. I can only hope it doesn't end in bloodshed."

"Yeah," Hide muttered, now pouring the freshly grinded beans into the boiling water. "Me too."

"Hide-san, if you don't mind me asking, do you have anyone else? Or...."

"Just them, I guess. I had friends when I was in Kamii, but often times, I'd be busy studying or, because of my interest, we don't often see each other. My family....well....they are gone. My mom and dad died when I was just ten years old, and I have been living with my aunt for a while before I eventually moved out. From there, I was on my own." Hide said. When the coffee was done, he began to pour it into two cups. "Though, I have to wonder - I don't think this is my first time seeing Kaneki."

"Hmm?" Yoshimura raised an eyebrow.

"Kaneki had mentioned going to Kamii once, and I  _think_ I remember seeing him there, but..." Hide frowned. "His hair is completely white now. I think I would remember seeing someone with white hair."

"Hmm," Yoshimura hummed as he took Hide's cup of coffee. "If Kaneki said he did, he probably did. Kaneki has no reason to lie."

"But," Hide started to pout. "His hair was black back then. And then he was gone just before we've spent a year in Kamii."

"It's best for Kaneki to tell you what had happened to him. That is no one's story to tell, but his own. In the meantime, coffee?" Hide grinned and tapped his cup against Yoshimura's, a silent cheer, before drinking his cup filled. When they were done, Yoshimura couldn't help but grin at Hide's grimace. "To a ghoul, not bad."

"To a human, needs more sugar."

Yoshimura laughed. 


	12. Chapter 12

Despite Yoshimura's words, Hide had decided to test out the coffee he'd made to the other ghouls when he had the time.

"It's not that bad," Nishiki stated, sitting the cup down. "A little too watery, but overall, it's passable."

"Coming from you, senpai, it must be true." Hide teased, smiling when Nishiki threw him a glare. Touka had placed her cup down as well, swallowing the last bit of coffee in her mouth.

"Ass shat is right. You're getting the hang of this pretty quickly," She said, turning to the human. Hide simply scratched the back of his head, laughing slightly. Touka couldn't help but stare him, mind in wonder,  biting her lip, before she open her mouth. "Keep it up, and you'll be working for us by the end of this week."

"I don't know whether to take that as a compliment or not." Hide said, the smile on his face becoming dim. Touka snorted.

"It wasn't." With that, she turned on her heels and began walking away from them.

"Don't mind her, she's just fussy because there's another mouth to feed." Nishiki said, turning to Hide.

"She seemed very upset when Kaneki brought me here." The human said with a frown on his face.

"That's because she, like the rest of us, don't believe in keeping humans as pets. However, if you met her earlier, she probably would've tried to kill you, just a heads up." Nishiki said, smirking a little at the disgruntle look that fell on Hide's face. "It might have something to do with Kaneki, though, more so than the practice itself. Their relationship is....odd, I guess you can call it that."

"They hate each other or something?"

Nishiki shook his head.

"Not hate, although when they first met....." The older man sighed. "It's just Kaneki's been through some things, and it kind of changed him, and Touka doesn't know how to deal with it. Personally, I believe Kaneki is still the same guy - just now I'm a little wary of what I say and do to him," He looked at Hide. "You probably already know Kaneki's a high level ghoul."

"Yeah, I got that." Hide nodded his head, looking out at the open floor as he spied Yoriko rushing around to serve coffee. He couldn't help but notice how some of the customer's eyes lingered on her, licking their lips, and he shivered. _Is t_ _his is what Yoshimura-san meant by 'toy' to the other ghouls?_ He thought just as he heard Touka yell-

"Why are you standing around for? Get to work, slave!"

Yoriko, who had been at another table talking, yelped.

"Yes master!" She said, and with a wave, ran back into the kitchen with notes in her hand. Hide could only stare at in disbelief.

"Huh," He muttered. "So this is-

"The acting? Yes. Although it's hard to tell with Touka since she sounds genuinely pissed all the time." Nishiki commented. As if hearing this, Touka turned around and gave him a glare, to which Nishiki, with all the grace and maturity as one would possess from college and being the older generation, stuck his tongue out. Rolling her eyes, she turned back to fixing a cup of coffee, but not before threatening Nishiki.

"Get your ass in gear, Four Eyes." Nishiki bristled and Hide had to stiffen his laugher. Unfortunately, the ghoul still caught it and he turned to the human.

"Don't laugh at her, she's not funny!"

Before Hide could respond to that, the door to Anteiku open up, revealing a black haired teen, Akira, Hide remembered, and his friends.

"Is Ani here today, or is he out?" The teen asked, blatantly ignoring the other guest in the room. The blonde haired girl, whom Hide know as 'Lady' Ann, scowled and lightly smacked him on the shoulder.

"Rude. You could at least say hi." She said, just as the cat, Morgana, popped his head out of Akira's bag - _why is he caring a bag?_ \- and began to talk.

"Yeah, that's right! Show some manners!" He screeched. Hide for the life of him cannot get over the fact that they had a talking cat, and how everyone just seemed okay with it. As if hearing this, Morgana turned his eyes on Hide and scoffed. "Oh, it's the slave. I see you finally got some sense and put some clothes on."

Hide wonders what he's done to deserve being talked down by a cat.

"To answer your question, he isn't. I think he's still out and about with his crew. If you hurry, you might be able to catch him." Nishiki said. Akira nodded in understanding before he began his trail upstairs, bypassing Hide. "What is that all about?"

"Just a simple task is all," A girl, whom Hide still didn't know, said, smiling before turning her eyes to Hide. "Hello. I don't think we've properly introduce ourselves. My name is Niijima Makoto, and this is Takamaki Ann." The girl, Ann, waved in greeting, smiling at him. Hide smiled back, holding out his hand.

"Nagachika Hideyoshi, but please call me Hide. Nice to meet you." He said, and Makoto shook his hand.

"Right, you're the slave Kaneki brought right? If you don't mind me asking, how did you get caught?" Ann asked, peering up at the brown haired man with curiosity. Hide grinned.

"I, uh, was kind of tipsy when some ghouls attacked me. I was sold through an auction." He said.

"An auction? That must've been terrible for you." Makoto said with a frown on her face. Hide shrugged his shoulders.

"I guess so. If anything, it was both humiliating and terrifying." Humiliating, because he had been on full display in front of hungry ghouls, and terrifying, because he had been in front of thousand hungry ghouls. And even now, he still feel their eyes on his body, how close he had been to being eaten, or into forced sex, if a ghoul wanted that.

The two girls didn't say anything afterwards, and even if they wanted to continue the talk, Akira later came down the steps, a confused frown on his face. He looked at his friends and gave them a nod, signaling that it was time to go.

"Well, I hope we can talk more in the future. Goodbye, Hide-san." Makoto said, and with that, the three teens left. Hide waved after them before a frown came across his face.

"Niijima, huh? Seems like Sae has some explaining to do."   

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this is what you get when you force yourself through writer's block.

**Author's Note:**

> *Shrugs*
> 
> Edit after the update to fandom: Fuck it, I've been meaning to do a crossover with Person 5 and Tokyo Ghoul, since I can't stop comparing Akira and Kaneki together. Additionally, it also helps with the explanation of why Rize is still alive, and giving Kaneki a motive to kill Yamori (besides the fact that he already had a motive in the beginning). So yeah...Whoo! My OTPS from different fandoms FINALLY get to meet after all this time :D


End file.
